


Whumptober 2019: AKA Sanji gets rekt

by RockinKlavier



Category: One Piece
Genre: Backstory, Blood and Injury, Character Study, Drowning, Drugging, Explosions, Guns, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, Other, Psychological Torture, Sickfic, Whump, whumptober2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-11-09 07:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20849483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockinKlavier/pseuds/RockinKlavier
Summary: Whumptober 2019 prompts, tags and warnings to be updated as drabbles are added.Day 10: Alt Prompt: Breathless





	1. Shaky Hands

Sanji woke up this morning feeling like he had just come out, barely victorious, from a fight to the death. This was a feeling Sanji experienced many times more often than the average person, however, the crew had had a rather peaceful week with no major battles to be had. In fact, yesterday they had just sailed on the calm seas with no disruptions, a rarity on these waters.

So he supposed he must be sick, but still, there were things that simply must be done so he forced himself out of bed and steeled himself for the day ahead.

Luckily he woke up first like usual, so he dragged himself to the kitchen and got to work on breakfast unseen by any of his crewmates who might become worried about him. Later he would have to try a bit harder to put up a front. He sniffled, moving to wash his hands, it wouldn’t do to have the rest of the crew catching whatever he had. His hands shook slightly under the stream of warm water.

When breakfast was made and the rest of the crew poured into the room, Sanji forced himself to eat all his food. It was against his principles to waste food, after all, and he couldn’t have the crew catching on to the fact that he was ill. Noticing the concerned glances he was getting from Chopper and Robin, he forced his hands to steady as he brought the food to his mouth.

By lunch Sanji was utterly exhausted, but his day was only halfway over. He was seriously beginning to doubt his body’s ability to make it the rest of the day, why was he trying so hard to hide that he was sick again? He shook his head. He had to feed his crew, his captain. Only he can keep up with Luffy’s frankly ridiculous appetite. He got up from his seat at the dining room table, thankful no one walked in while he was hunched over grasping his skull, shaking. Damn, his head hurt.

He stumbled to the counter and pulled out one of his well kept kitchen knives and began cutting vegetables for sandwiches. Surely he could handle something as simple as this even in his weakened state. However, the shaking in his hands grew more and more violent and his hand slipped, cutting into his finger rather than the tomato he meant to. He couldn’t stop himself from letting out a small curse, but that, along with Chopper’s astute sense of smell catching a white of blood, caused the little reindeer to run in the door.

Chopper had a feeling something was wrong since he saw Sanji at breakfast that morning, but he knew Sanji was stubbornly hiding it, and wouldn’t say anything to him. Now he caught Sanji, holding himself up with one hand grasping the counter, his other shaky hand held in front of his face as he watched the blood flow. He looked mere moments away from collapse, so Chopper transformed into his human point and helped Sanji to the nearest chair to sit down. His worry increased, as Sanji was so out of it he didn’t even acknowledge Chopper’s presence. From this close proximity, Chopper could feel the heat of fever radiating from Sanji. His ears twitched as a drop of Sanji’s blood hit the floor.

With Sanji situated in the chair, Chopper gently pulled the injured hand closer to examine it. A sigh of relief escaped him as he saw that the cut was not deep. It could be taken care of quickly. The illness on the other hand… Sanji had likely made it worse by pushing himself all day. He would have to reprimand him for that later. For now though, he helped Sanji to the infirmary. Sanji wouldn’t want the rest of the crew to know about his condition but at this point it was unavoidable. Chopper knew some of them had their suspicions already, and those that saw him take Sanji to the infirmary would surely spread the news to the others.

Sanji must have passed out on the way there, unsurprisingly as he was hardly awake before. Chopper laid him down and got to work cleaning and bandaging the cut on his hand. He then removed Sanji’s tie and shoes (leave it to Sanji to be all dressed up even when he’s sick) and tucked him into bed. He wet a rag with cool water to help bring Sanji’s temperature down, and grabbed a pair of comfy clothes for the man to change into when he was awake. He then left him to explain to the rest of the crew what was going on, as surely they were worried.

After telling the crew that Sanji would be okay as long as he didn’t push himself anymore, he returned to the infirmary to find Sanji already trying to get out of bed. The reindeer rushed over and gently but firmly lowered the man back into bed.

“Sanji, you got this sick because you didn’t rest in the first place, so stay in bed for today! Doctor’s orders!”

“But Chopper, I have to finish making lunch, I was in the middle…”

He trailed off, just now noticing his hand wrapped in bandages.

Chopper, upon noticing what caused the distraction, moved to calm Sanji. “It’s okay, it’s just a small cut. But it happened because you pushed yourself too hard while you’re sick, so you need to listen to me and let yourself get better! The rest of us can all pitch in to help with food so you can lay down and rest.”

Sanji, too tired to argue further sighed and gave in. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe it was okay for him to let the others help him for a while. Maybe… he could just sleep it off. He let himself relax into the sheets and drifted off.


	2. Explosion/Delirium (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Explosion

Sanji found himself deep in a marine ship, surrounded by canon balls and barrels of gunpowder. He had snuck off during the battle, confident that his crewmates could handle it. His plan was to find a way to sabotage these marines, and he had an idea.

If he destroyed the gunpowder, the marines wouldn’t be able to fire their canons after them, giving them a far easier time getting away. Of course, they’d have no problem getting away regardless, but it couldn’t hurt to simplify the process. All he had to do was soak it all, and that’s what he set out to do.

However, it seemed his plan would not go as smoothly as he hoped when one of the marines happened to spot him in the room. The marine was startled, not expecting one of the pirates to sneak deep into their ship. He scrambled to pull out his rifle and pointed it at Sanji. Now this situation was far from ideal. Sanji was not a long range fighter, and the marine was too far away for his kicks to reach.

The rifle fired, but the marine’s aim was poor, or, perhaps, unintentionally excellent. The man ran off. His bullet missed Sanji entirely and hit a barrel instead. A barrel that he had not yet touched. A spark was all it took. Sanji twisted around just as the gunpowder ignited and exploded. The blast blew him backwards.

Sanji slammed into the wall and the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter one today, but it’s set up for tomorrow so look forward to that!


	3. Explosion/Delirium (Part 2 END)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Delirium

His ears were ringing. He wasn’t sure when he got to this side of the room. He wasn’t quite sure what he was just doing at all. Hell, it was fucking hot in here. Sanji pushed himself up using the wall behind him as support. He lifted his head from the ground and looked around to catch his bearings.

He startled as he saw a fire on the other side of the room. That explained the heat. He shifted his gaze to the side, surprised to see that damn mosshead next to him, saying something. From the looks of it he had been trying to get his attention for a while. He couldn’t hear what he was saying… probably something irritating. Sanji tried to lean forward and say something back to the other man, but he lost his balance and pitched forward right into Zoro. His face flushed, this was embarrassing to say the least.

The marimo adjusted his hold on him and started to help him walk out. But he didn’t need his damn help! Sanji attempted to wrestle out of Zoro’s grip but the man just pulled him closer. What the hell?

The pair walked along for what felt like forever. Sanji was pretty sure the damn swordsman was lost, as usual. Eventually, they found the rest of the crew and, most importantly, Chopper. Sanji tried to keep up as Zoro sped up the rest of the short way to Chopper, but he was more or less being dragged along at this point. He was lowered to the ground so their doctor could examine him.

Sanji flinched when Chopper’s hooves moved to check the back of his head. He hadn’t noticed how much his head was hurting before, but the touch fueled realization was very unwelcome. He made this known with a groan. Chopper paused for a moment before continuing his work. Sanji looked at Zoro and saw his mouth move, but he still couldn’t make out what he was saying. Why was the ringing so damn loud? It was making his headache worse! He tried to move his hands to cover his ears, but Chopper pushed them away.

Time passed oddly. Sanji had no idea how long it had been, it felt like forever but also just a moment. He felt himself being lifted slightly and being put on a stretcher. When did the stretcher get here? His vision was blurry. He saw a flash of blue he assumed was Franky. Ah, the rest of the crew must have showed up, he supposed. Weren’t they here the whole time? Maybe he should try to pay more attention to his surroundings.

He tried lifting his head again to look around him but it hurt. All his senses other than the sharp pain in his skull and the ringing in his ears felt so blurry. He closed his eyes, hoping to block out the world which seemed to be stirring around him. He thought he felt a squeeze on his hand before he lost awareness completely.

Bright light entered his slightly open eyes and he slammed them shut again. God, his head hurt. He tried again slowly. It took his eyes way too long to get used to the light of the room. It was then that he noticed that he wasn’t in his own bed, but in the infirmary. Looking back in his memory to try to find out why he was here proved useless, so he went on to check up on his body.

His arms and hands were fine, good. His legs were okay as well. Obviously he had that headache. Fingertips brushed against the rough texture of a bandage around his head when he reached up to touch. So, head injury. That explained the gap in his memory.

It was at that moment that Chopper walked in, but Sanji couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t hear him. Not the sound of him opening the door, not his happy shout at seeing him awake, not his footsteps as he ran towards him. Sanji swallowed. The thought of talking while not being able to hear himself was strange, so instead of trying he simply looked at Chopper and pointed at his ears.

Chopper, already prepared for this grabbed a notebook and pen from the side table and began writing, sitting beside Sanji so he could see as he wrote.

_Don’t worry. The hearing loss is temporary. Caused by ruptured eardrums, it will go away as they heal._ Chopper paused. _I’m confident you will be able to hear again, but maybe not as well. We won’t know for sure until your eardrums heal._

Sanji took a deep breath. He could deal with this. In a few weeks, he might be just fine and, well, he could learn to live with any damage to his hearing. He could still cook, he could still fight. He could still be useful. After a moment of composing himself, he pointed at the bandages on his head.

Chopper’s hoof moved the pen to paper. _You don’t remember then?_

Sanji nodded, and regretted it when moving his head caused his headache to grow worse.

_Ok, that’s pretty expected. You hit your head against the wall pretty hard. It caused a concussion which made you forget the things leading up to the injury. It’s also what’s causing your headache. You were pretty out of it up until now, but you seem to be getting better now, that’s good!_

That rose another question in Sanji’s mind. How long had he been out? He pointed at the clock, and then at himself, hoping Chopper would understand.

_How long has it been?_

Sanji nodded.

_Well… since your injury it’s been a few days. You woke up a few times but it seems you don’t remember. Like I said you were pretty out of it. I’m so relieved you’re getting better… I was so worried!_ Relieved tears were glistening in Chopper’s eyes.

Sanji was startled that he had lost multiple days but… he smiled and held out his arms for Chopper. Their doctor was excellent at his job but he was still so young. His arms squeezed as best they could around a furry body as Sanji drifted off to sleep, knowing that everything would be okay. 

Shortly after Sanji fully woke up for that first time, he was back on his feet. He was still prescribed to a lot of rest, but he was able to get back in the kitchen and start making simple meals for the crew again. Chopper stayed nearby to make sure Sanji remembered to take breaks every now and then. His hearing was starting to get better, and his headache was manageable with pain killers from their doctor.

Sanji made sure to spoil Chopper a little with sweets, as thanks for the care the doctor took in taking care of them all.


	4. Human Shield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Human Shield

In battle, Zoro and Sanji always fought side by side. The two knew each other’s fighting styles better than anyone thanks to their daily sparring. They knew exactly how to cover each other’s weak points, and for the most part, when they fought together they both came out relatively unscathed.

The key words here being “for the most part”.

It was no secret that Sanji had a bit of a habit of self sacrifice. There had been many times where he put himself in harm's way for the sake of another. Sanji would give up anything to protect every single one of his friends. And, though it wasn’t something he would admit outloud, that included Zoro.

Which is why, when he saw a marine aiming his rifle at the mosshead, who was already dealing with several attacking him from the front, Sanji jumped between and took the bullet himself. _A scar on the back is a swordsman's shame_, and Sanji couldn’t just let that happen to his prideful rival.

The bullet smashed into his chest, and his body slammed into Zoro, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. He was starting to slide down Zoro’s back.

Zoro spun around and wrapped an arm around his chest to hold him up. With his other hand, he slashed at the marine who shot Sanji. The look in Zoro’s eyes screamed rage and all the other marines around him took a step back in fear. After lowering Sanji to the ground with a gentleness that greatly contradicted the rest of his demeanor, Zoro gripped his swords tighter in preparation.

These marines would pay, and later, Zoro would have a talk with the foolish chef who cared more about others than he cared about himself.


	5. Gunpoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: Gunpoint

A bead of cold sweat slithered it’s way down Sanji’s neck, making him shiver. His hands were being held violently behind his back by one of the pirates of the other crew. The cold metal of the gun held to his head was impossible to ignore. His legs were free, so it should be easy to escape but…

But.

Chopper, Usopp, and Nami were being held across from him, restrained, like he was. While the gun were not in as close proximity to them than the one was to him, it would still be easy for any of the enemy crew to take aim and fire before he could stop them.

He kept his mouth shut and his attention on his friends. Yes, right now it was best to avoid doing anything that could set their captors off. It was best to wait for the rest of his friends to come find them. His legs fidgeted. How he wished he could do something right now to get them out of this himself but he was powerless.

The seconds stretched and the tense situation seemed to last forever. Sanji let himself breathe a sigh of relief when he heard his captain’s yell from behind him and saw the reflection of the sunlight off three swords in front of him, and allowed himself to pull away from the enemy pirates grasp, knowing that with his whole crew here, there’s no way they could lose.


	6. Dragged Away/Isolation (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: Dragged Away

“Has anyone seen Sanji?” Nami asked, not having seen him since lunch.

Everyone else shook their head to the negative, but no one was particularly concerned. It wasn’t uncommon for Sanji to sneak off, looking for information about what was going on around the islands they docked at, or even just making his way to the market to check out local produce. So long as he was back in time to make dinner, this was normal.

The crew would later come to regret that they didn’t look for Sanji sooner. Perhaps, they could have saved the crew and their cook a lot of grief.

Sanji was not back for dinner. Nor was he back for breakfast the next morning. He didn’t turn up when they looked for him. All they found was a bit of information.

Apparently, Sanji had been in a bar, talking to men who looked like members of another pirate crew. He got drunk quickly (not like him to get drunk in the middle of the day, was he drugged?) and was dragged off by the other guys, who excused themselves as being his friends, that Sanji had just gotten too drunk and they were taking him home. No one wanted to question the threatening pirates who took Sanji.

And that’s all they got. It was better than nothing but, without even knowing if the other crew was still around…

No use in being overly negative. They had to work with what they had to get Sanji back. There was no other option.


	7. Dragged Away/Isolation (Part 2 END)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: Isolation

Sanji stared blankly at the wall of his cell. He had no idea how long he had been here. There were no windows showing any light from outside, just a door he couldn’t get to. The only time he saw other people was when that door opened, and someone in a mask came down to give him meager meals. The person never spoke to him. He ate.

Being alone without much to do for who knows how long gave his mind far too much time to wander. It didn’t help that this was startlingly similar to when his sorry excuse for a biological father locked him away as a child.

He found himself constantly pulling at his own hair, afraid that if he let go, that damn helmet would somehow find its way back onto his head. At least this time his brothers weren’t here to beat him, but oddly… he found himself wishing for any kind of human contact. The masked person never spoke, never touched him. If not for the food, he would doubt that the masked person even existed.

When he slept he dreamt of his friends coming to rescue him, but he always woke up to the cruel reality of being alone in this cell. He was dreaming again, he thought.

He didn’t acknowledge the versions of his friends that his mind created. He knew it would only hurt more when he woke up if he did. But things were a little different this time. In all his dreams so far he never actually saw what was outside of the room he was in… but this time, the mosshead carried him on his back (was he just imagining the warmth?) and took him up and outside.

He had to squeeze his eyes shut. He hadn’t seen daylight since he was taken away, it burned his eyes and it felt so real. The tears in his eyes weren’t only from the light. Maybe he could allow himself a modicum of belief. He gripped Zoro tight, not even caring about looking weak in front of his rival right now. He felt Zoro squeeze where he was holding his legs.

With that, he drifted off.


	8. Stab Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: Stab Wound

Sanji was in a bit of a predicament.

That predicament being the marimo’s sword currently sticking into his chest. It felt like time had stopped. Maybe sparring on muddy ground was not the greatest idea after all.

He couldn’t believe he slipped onto a goddamn sword.

And now he was coughing up blood onto his rival. That certainly wasn’t good.

He was being held up by Zoro’s grip on the sword, until Zoro adjusted his hold on him and lowered them both down, his head in the moss’s lap, the sword still in his chest. Zoro yelled for Chopper. Sanji focused on his breathing… fuck it hurt. He was so dizzy but…

“Oh no! Someone call a doctor!”

Chopper was here. Chopper was the best doctor in the world. If anyone could help him, it was Chopper. Sanji let himself lose consciousness.

The first thing Sanji noticed upon waking up was green hair at the foot of his bed, Zoro. He then noticed the white sheathed sword laying next to him on the bed, rather than in Zoro’s arms, where it usually was while he napped. Shit, the damn swordsman has probably been feeling guilty this whole time, but it was his own fault for slipping. He didn’t want the man to act weird around him.

“Oi, marimo,” he tried, but his voice was so weak. His effort to speak did however trigger a coughing fit which did a well enough job at catching the swordsman’s attention.

The other man twisted around, getting to his feet. He looked like a mess.

“Damn moss brain… have you even moved from that spot?” Just talking had him out of breath, but he’d be damned if he passed up a chance to tease Zoro.

Zoro’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he relaxed and shot Sanji a smirk. “I’m sure I look better than you, dart brow.”

Yes, this was good. This was how their relationship should be. Sanji didn’t want Zoro to try to feel guilty or to treat him differently, he wanted things to be just like this.


	9. Shackled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9: Shackled

Sanji couldn’t stop glancing down at the bracelets around his wrists.

To anyone who didn’t know their true nature, they appeared to be simple accessories, but these bracelets were anything but. They were shackles, holding him here through the threat of the bomb inside ready to blow off his hands if he tried to run away. His father didn’t want him to escape again.

For a father who seemed to despise his very existence, Judge Vinsmoke was very intent on keeping him around. Sanji thought back to over a decade ago, in a dark and musty basement with a heavy iron helmet forced over his head. Iron bars and an iron door which only opened to let in more torment as his brothers beat him. His only solace was his memories of the fairy tales he loved so much. He daydreamed about the mythical sea called the All Blue, he would love to go there someday.

He escaped those shackles with help from his sister.

Then he found himself on the Orbit. He was able to do what he loved but he was still shackled by the fear that one day his father would track him down. Instead, the Orbit sank and he found himself trapped on a desolate rock and he starved. He stared out at the vast and empty ocean day in and day out for three months and he longed for his freedom. He wondered if maybe some of these waters had touched All Blue. One day, he was found.

Zeff was the father he never had, and for the first time in a very long time Sanji felt truly loved. He would do anything for Zeff, as Zeff had given up so much for him. For the next few years of his life Sanji worked at the Baratie, perhaps, he would work here his whole life. Zeff had given up his dream for him, so he could give up his for Zeff, it was only fair. Again he was shackled, this time by his own feelings of guilt.

But then, a boy in a straw hat showed up and turned Sanji’s world upside down. Luffy was such a small boy with such big dreams, and his passion sparked a flame within Sanji to follow his own. Luffy took Sanji’s self made shackles and ripped them apart, and for the very first time Sanji was truly free.

The bracelets weighed him down. He had never felt so hopeless.


	10. Breathless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10: Alt Prompt Breathless

It was dark and cold. Sanji wasn’t sure what happened. One minute he was on the Sunny, fighting off an invading crew and the next… he was here. Floating… underwater? Shit, he needed air! Sanji tried to swim back to the surface but he didn’t know which way was up.

He was panicking.

He flailed his arms around, tiring himself out. _Can’t breathe, can’t breathe, get me out!_ The water felt so heavy. It was all around him, it was in his lungs. He couldn’t breathe. He desperately held his eyes open but to no avail. Sanji lost consciousness.

Everyone winced as they heard the crack of Sanji’s ribs, but Luffy didn’t stop the rhythmic chest compressions. He couldn’t stop until his cook, his friend, was breathing again.

“C’mon Sanji!”, Luffy started between breaths, “I need my cook... so you have to get up!” Luffy leaned down for another rescue breath and...

Sanji’s eyes squeezed tighter and he coughed, gasping as his lungs attempted to return to a regular rhythm. Goddamn his chest _hurt_. He felt rubber arms wrapping around him in a solid embrace before he lost consciousness once again.

Chopper checked Sanji over once more Luffy finally let out a sigh of relief. Sanji’s ribs were broken, and it would take a while for him to heal completely, but he was breathing again. He was alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: picks an alt prompt for unconsciousness bc I keep doing that anyway  
Me: knocks Sanji out twice
> 
> Welp


End file.
